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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. snap — to click
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. branch — a division
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. pitch — completely
  15. wax — to grow
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. mark — a trace
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. mark — a grade

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com